Tag Archives: restaurants

My team at the Catering Institute is working hard in the field today, as they do every day. We spend all our time in restaurants helping them to grow sales and increase profits by educating them to be experts at feeding their customers where they Live, Work & Play.

One of the key elements that we get asked about every single day is how to sell more products and services in the business to business (B2B) channel.

Well, I have learned that in order to sell more off premise products and services into companies, we have to really focus on active selling. We have to become professional selling organizations, every single day. This is not for the light hearted. It takes organizational resilience to really be selling at all levels of a restaurant company.

One idea that I like to focus on with all of our clients is on the “ABC’s” of selling.

Always Be Closing!

It is amazing to see how many of us experience an uptick in sales when we just start focusing on the basics of asking for business.

Here are 5 ideas that you can implement tomorrow to help you grow more sales.

1. Ask for the order 3 times

2. Be persistent every single day. If a prospect says no to you, it’s not that they are really saying no. They are not buying for another reason and it is your job to find out.

3. Know when to Cut Your Losses and Move on To Another Prospect. This is part of the qualification process. Are they qualified to purchase your products and services.

4. Learn to Isolate Objections. Make sure you ask your prospect “Besides {put objection here}, is there any other reason you won’t buy from me today?”

5. Once Isolated, ask the Prospect, “If {put objection here} was not an issue, would you buy then? Then solve for their objection.

Here at the Catering Institute and MonkeyMedia Software, we work with the most amazing restaurant companies in America. I am always dissecting new ways of doing things, and always looking at ways of how to make catering work in restaurants. After all, a restaurant is a complex manufacturing plant! Adding more revenue channels is complicated.

The single most important lesson I have learned is that we need executive alignment to make catering work inside these complex operations. It requires commitment.

So, here are 5 things to think about as you consider growing catering sales.

1. Slow Down – We have to take the time to understand the 360 degree strategy of takeout, delivery and catering. They are all closely related. They are interdependent on each other.

2. Plan – We have to take the time to make a proper plan. We ALL need to do a better job at that. Planning is hard for everyone.

3. Menu Differentiation – We need to focus on markets. The market for these services is different from our current restaurant products and services.

4. Sales – We have to become very active in our selling process. It needs to become part of our culture at all touch points of our companies.

5. Patience – All great things take time. Growing catering out of our restaurants is a major commitment and it will take investment and time.

Of course, I could make a list of a hundred more ideas… just call me at 604-831-7422 if you want to chat more.

At the MMS Catering Institute we help our clients to build their business plans for growing catering sales out of their restaurants. You can’t expect real results without a solid and well thought out roadmap.

It’s basic business. Don’t just take my word for it, listen to the catering kid in the video below.